The detection and/or monitoring of glucose levels or other analytes, such as lactate, oxygen, A1C, or the like, in certain individuals is vitally important to their health. For example, the monitoring of glucose is particularly important to individuals with diabetes. Diabetics generally monitor glucose levels to determine if their glucose levels are being maintained within a clinically safe range, and may also use this information to determine if, and/or when, insulin is needed to reduce glucose levels in their bodies or when additional glucose is needed to raise the level of glucose in their bodies.
Growing clinical data demonstrates a strong correlation between the frequency of glucose monitoring and glycemic control. Despite such correlation, many individuals diagnosed with a diabetic condition do not monitor their glucose levels as frequently as they should due to a combination of factors including convenience, testing discretion, pain associated with glucose testing, and cost.
Devices have been developed for the automatic monitoring of analyte(s), such as glucose, in bodily fluid such as in the blood stream or in interstitial fluid (“ISF”), or other biological fluid. Some of these analyte monitoring devices are configured so that at least a portion of the devices are positioned below a skin surface of a user, e.g., in a blood vessel or in the subcutaneous tissue of a user, so that the monitoring is accomplished in vivo.
The positioning of the analyte monitoring devices in the body is typically accomplished with the aid of an insertion device, or inserter, that includes a sharp for penetrating the skin and allowing simultaneous or subsequent placement of the sensor within the resulting skin puncture. Conventional inserters can be bulky and/or complex devices that are expensive to manufacture and burdensome to use. These complex inserters are typically stored in sterile packaging and are not reusable, thus increasing the costs for the consumer. Furthermore, many typical inserters require some degree of assembly prior to use, either assembly of the inserter or the sensor device to be placed on and in the body, or both.
Thus, with the continued development of analyte monitoring devices and systems, there is a need for improved inserters that, for example, are more compact, less complex, easier to use, and cheaper to manufacture.